The present invention relates to a filler neck assembly and a liquid tank equipped with such a filler neck assembly.
Road vehicles are equipped with a fuel tank. On industrial vehicles such as trucks, the fuel tank is often located on the side of the chassis frame. Mountings brackets are attached to the chassis frame and the substantially parallelepiped fuel tank rests on the said brackets while straps surround the fuel tank and secure the fuel tank onto the chassis frame. The fuel tank is provided with an inlet port that is closed by a fuel tank cap. The fuel inlet port is traditionally located on the top face of the fuel tank and generally adjacent to the external face of the fuel tank.
In addition to a fuel tank, road vehicles and especially freights trucks can be further equipped with an additional tank for an additive liquid such as urea. To comply with emissions standards, diesel powered vehicles can be fitted with an SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) catalytic converter. Urea stored in an additional tank, commonly referred to as urea tank, is spayed into the exhaust gas prior to undergoing depollution treatment in the SCR catalytic converter.
On most industrial vehicles, the urea tank is located next to the fuel tank using mounting brackets similar to those supporting the fuel tank, secured onto the vehicle chassis frame.
Fuel tank and urea tank are equipped at their inlet with a filler neck assembly having an inner tubular part in which can be inserted a liquid dispensing nozzle in order to fill the tank. To guide the dispensing nozzle in the filler neck assembly and to avoid introduction of foreign matter in the fuel or urea tank the inner cross-section of the inner tubular part is generally adjusted, with a small gap, to the external diameter of the dispensing nozzle.
Besides, filler neck assemblies for liquid tanks of motor vehicles and especially filler neck assemblies for urea tanks are usually provided with failsafe means in order to prevent refilling of the liquid tank with an inappropriate liquid, for instance to prevent refilling of the urea tank with fuel.
One kind of solution for failsafe means consists in or comprises using an inner tubular part of the filler neck assembly which has a cross-section with a specific shape and/or size and a liquid dispensing nozzle which has a complementary shape. In that case, the cross-section of the inner tubular part and the complementary shape of the liquid dispensing nozzle are preferably closely adjusted to prevent the use of an inappropriate dispensing nozzle.
The adjustment between the inner cross-section of the inner tubular part and the dispensing nozzle causes the user to be obliged to seek for an alignment of the liquid dispensing nozzle with the longitudinal axis of the inner tubular part of the filler neck assembly in order to succeed in introducing the dispensing nozzle into the liquid tank inlet. Depending, for instance, on the type of vehicle, on the location of the liquid tank on the vehicle, on the location of the inlet on the liquid tank, on proximity of other vehicle equipment to the liquid tank, the accessibility to the tank inlet can be more or less difficult and consequently the alignment of the dispensing nozzle with the longitudinal axis of the inner tubular part can be in some circumstances hard to find.
Document WO2009013558 discloses a filler neck assembly that comprises a ball joint articulation between the inner tubular part and a supporting part of the filler neck assembly. Thanks to this ball joint articulation the inner tubular part can be inclined with respect to the supporting part. The inner tubular part can be therefore oriented in a convenient direction so that it becomes easier for the user to align the dispensing nozzle with the longitudinal axis of the inner tubular part and so easier to introduce the liquid dispensing nozzle in the inner tubular part.
In WO2009013558, the orientation of the inner tubular part with respect to the supporting part and such as chosen by the user can be lost between two operations of liquid tank filling. The loss of the orientation can be for, instance, due to some vibrations of the vehicle caused, for instance, by the combustion engine especially when it is operating at low engine speed.
In a more troublesome situation, the inner tubular part can be reoriented in an opposite direction which makes the introduction of the dispensing nozzle in the inner tubular part more difficult or impossible for the user. In such a case the user has to try first to reorient the inner tubular part in a convenient direction.
It therefore appears that, from several standpoints, there is room for improvement in filler neck assemblies for liquid tank of motor vehicle and in liquid tanks equipped with such filler neck assemblies.
It is desirable to provide a filler neck assembly that allows a user to more easily introduce a dispensing nozzle in a filler neck assembly of a liquid tank.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a filler neck assembly which comprises at least:                a supporting part designed to be fixed at the inlet of a liquid tank positioned on a motor vehicle and having a central through hole mainly formed about a central axis XA,        a tubular part that is positioned in said central through hole, having a longitudinal axis XB,        at least a first abutment area and a second abutment area attached to one part which is selected between the supporting part and the tubular part,        at least one contacting area attached to the other part which is selected between the tubular part and the supporting part such that said contacting area can cooperate with one or other of the first and second abutment areas.        
Said first and second abutment areas and said contacting area are arranged so that:                the cooperation of the contacting area with the first abutment area defines a first angular position of the tubular part with respect to said supporting part, and        the cooperation of the contacting area with the second abutment area defines a second angular position of the tubular part with respect to said supporting part.        
The tubular part is advantageously designed so that a liquid dispensing nozzle can be introduced into the tubular part in order to fill the liquid tank.
Thus, such a filler neck assembly allows an orientation of the tubular part with respect to the supporting part according to at least two predetermined angular positions. Said predetermined angular positions are determined by the positions of at least two different abutment areas. Thanks to that, it can be chosen, for instance, by the manufacturer or by the user and depending, for instance, on the type of vehicle, on the location of the liquid tank on the vehicle, on proximity of other vehicle equipment to the liquid tank and so on the available space around the liquid tank inlet, what is the better angular position of the tubular part in order to fill the liquid tank.
More precisely, the angular positions of the tubular part, that it is possible to choose with respect to the supporting part, are determined by at least two abutment areas which are attached to the supporting part or to the tubular part and which can cooperate with a contacting area attached to the other part which is selected between the tubular part and the supporting part. The expression “the other part which is selected between the tubular part and the supporting part” refers to the part to which are not attached the abutment areas. The cooperation of the contacting area with the first or the second abutment area ensures that the tubular part can remain maintained by abutment in the chosen angular position, with respect to supporting part and between two refilling operations of the liquid tank regardless of the vibrations and conditions of use of the vehicle.
The invention also concerns a liquid tank positioned on a motor vehicle and equipped with such a filler neck assembly. More especially, the invention concerns a urea tank positioned on a motor vehicle and equipped with such a filler neck assembly.